Beverage container holding device

ABSTRACT

A beverage container holding device includes a housing member for housing a beverage container, a movable floor attached to the housing member for supporting a beverage container bottom, a movable floor biasing member for upwardly biasing the movable floor, and a movable floor locking mechanism for securing the movable floor at a predetermined height against the movable floor biasing member. The housing member has a guide groove, and the movable floor has a branch portion extending through the guide groove to an outside of the housing member, and a claw portion extending horizontally from the branch portion. The movable floor locking mechanism includes an annular member which is rotatably mounted below a bottom member, at least one column member extending upward from the annular member in parallel to the guide groove, and a lock piece integrally formed on each column member for suppressing an upper surface of the claw portion.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a beverage container holding device,which is also referred to as a cup holder.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In a vehicle, especially a passenger car, a cup holder is providedwithin the reach of a person in the car. For example, when a beveragecontainer of 350 milli-litre (hereinafter, referred to as ml) is used asa regular size container, a beverage container of 500 ml is used as along size container, and the cup holder has a depth corresponding to theregular size container, then the long size container protrudes largelyupward from the cup holder and becomes unstable. Further, if the depthof the cup holder corresponds to the long size container, the regularsize container is difficult to take out from the cup holder.

Accordingly, a cup holder capable of coping with beverage containershaving different sizes is known as disclosed in, for example, JapanesePatent No. 6071003.

The technique disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 6071003 will be describedwith reference to FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B.

FIG. 8A is a cross-sectional view of a conventional beverage containerholding device, and FIG. 8B is a drawing when viewed in the direction ofthe arrow B-B in FIG. 8A.

As shown in FIG. 8A, a beverage container holding device 100 includes,as its major components, a cylindrical portion 101, a movable floor(bed) 102 that moves up and down in the cylindrical portion 101, and anoperation rod 103 operated by a person in a vehicle.

On a lower surface of the movable floor 102, a pawl ring 105 isrotatably mounted. A claw 104 is provided on the claw ring 105.

As shown in FIG. 8B, a guide groove 106 extending vertically is formedin the cylindrical portion 101. The claw 104 moves up and down along theguide groove 106.

Lock recesses 107 and 108 are formed on one side of the guide groove106. When the claw 104 fits in one of the lock recesses 107 and 108, themovable floor 102 is locked and becomes unable to move up and down.

In FIG. 8A, when the moveable floor 102 is in the position indicated bythe imaginary line and the operation rod 103 is intentionally depressed,the pawl ring 105 rotates in the unlocking direction against a biasingforce of a torsion spring 109. Then, in FIG. 8B, the claw 104 fitted inthe lock recess 108 is disengaged, moves up in the guide groove 106, andfits into the lock recess 107 so that the claw 104 reaches a positionindicated by a solid line in FIG. 8A.

When a beverage container 111 is intentionally lowered, the movablefloor 102, shown in the solid line, is lowered to a position indicatedby the imaginary line and locked at that position.

Incidentally, since the beverage container holding device 100 is mountedin a passenger car, the beverage container holding device 100 isaffected by vibrations of a vehicle body. Accordingly, some liquidbeverage spills from the beverage container 111 at a certain frequencyor probability. In addition, when the beverage container 111 is put inand taken out from the beverage container, some liquid beverage mayaccidentally spill. As the amount of spill increases, the liquidbeverage spills from the edge of the moveable floor 102 and flows downthrough a gap 112 between the cylindrical portion 101 and the moveablefloor 102.

A portion of the descending liquid beverage flows down along the guidegroove 106, as shown in FIG. 8B. Many liquid beverages contain stickysugar. This sugar content is interposed between the locking recess 107and the claw 104 and between the locking recess 108 and the claw 104,and the sugar content is hardened. As a result, the claw 104 is fixed tothe lock recess 107 or the lock recess 108, and it becomes difficult torelease the lock.

Further, the remainder of the liquid beverage flowing down through thegap 112 proceeds around the bottom surface of the movable floor 102 andsolidifies. Then, the pawl ring 105 is fixed to the movable floor 102.As a result, it becomes more and more difficult to release the lock.

As described above, it cannot be said that the beverage containerholding device 100 disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 6071003 is astructure resistant to the spilling of the liquid beverage.

However, as the use of the beverage container holding device 100diversifies, there is a need for a beverage container holding devicehaving a structure that is resistant to the spilling of the liquidbeverage, that is, a beverage container holding device that is lessprone to operational failures such as difficulty in unlocking even ifthe liquid beverage spills from the beverage container.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a beverage containerholding device which is less prone to operational failures even ifliquid beverage spills from a beverage container.

According to a first embodiment of the present invention, there isprovided a beverage container holding device including a housing memberhaving an upper opening and a lower opening and configured to house abeverage container inserted from the upper opening, a movable floorattached to the housing member such that the movable floor can move upand down and supports a bottom of the beverage container, a movablefloor biasing member spanning the housing member and the movable floorand configured to bias the movable floor upward, a movable floor lockingmechanism configured to keep the movable floor at a predetermined heightagainst the movable floor biasing member, an unlocking member configuredto release a lock of the movable floor locking mechanism, and a bottommember configured to close the lower opening,

the housing member has a guide groove extending vertically,

the movable floor has a branch portion extending through the guidegroove to an outside of the housing member, and a claw portion extendinghorizontally from the branch portion,

the movable floor locking mechanism includes an annular member which isrotatably mounted below the bottom member, at least one column memberextending upward from the annular member in parallel to the guidegroove, and a lock piece integrally formed on each column member andconfigured to suppress an upper surface of the claw portion, and

the claw portion and the movable floor locking mechanism are engagedwith each other at a position invisible through the guide groove whenviewed from a center of the housing member.

In the present invention, when viewed from the center of the housingmember, the claw portion and the movable floor locking mechanism areengaged with each other at a position invisible through the guidegroove.

A portion of the spilled liquid beverage exits the housing memberthrough the guide groove. Since the engaging portion between the clawportion and the movable floor locking mechanism is in a position notvisible through the guide groove, the liquid beverage does not reach theengaging portion. Appropriate engaging and disengaging between the clawportion and the movable floor locking mechanism is maintained.

Therefore, according to the present invention, there is provided abeverage container holding device in which, even if the liquid beveragespills from the beverage container, an operation failure hardly occurs.

Preferably, the movable floor locking mechanism is held by the housingmember with an arcuate elongated hole (or holes) and a pin (or pins)fitted in the arcuate elongated hole(s).

Since the movable floor locking mechanism is held by the housing member,the sway of the movable floor locking mechanism (undesired movements inthe horizontal direction) is suppressed.

Preferably, upper ends of the column members are connected by aconnecting member.

If the upper ends of the column members are free ends, the upper endsare easily deflected.

In the present invention, since the upper ends are connected by theconnecting member, it is possible to suppress the deflection of theupper ends of the column members.

Preferably, the bottom member includes a vertical trough continuous tothe guide groove.

The liquid beverage flowing down along the guide groove flows down thedown pipe portion. The liquid beverage does not flow around to a lowersurface (underside) of the bottom member.

Preferably, the bottom member has a drain tubular member, the movablefloor locking mechanism is rotatably supported by a locking mechanismsupport member, and the drain tubular member extends to below thelocking mechanism support member.

The drain tubular member can quickly discharge the liquid beverageaccumulated on the bottom member. Further, since the drain tubularmember extends to below the locking mechanism support member, it isfurther ensured that no liquid beverage flows around the lockingmechanism support member.

Preferably, the drain tubular member has an engaging piece formedthereon, and the engaging piece engages with the locking mechanismsupport member.

Since the locking mechanism support member is supported by the engagingpiece, the swinging of the locking mechanism support member issuppressed. Further, since the locking mechanism support member istemporarily fixed by the engaging piece, an screwing operation isfacilitated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A plurality of preferred embodiments of the present invention will nowbe described in detail on the basis of the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a beverage container holding deviceaccording to an embodiment of the present invention,

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the beverage container holding device(upper components),

FIG. 3 is another exploded view of the beverage container holding device(lower components),

FIG. 4A is a perspective view of a movable floor locking mechanism,

FIG. 4B is a perspective view showing a modification of the movablefloor locking mechanism,

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the beverage container holdingdevice,

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 6-6 in FIG. 1,

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 7-7 in FIG. 1,

FIG. 8A shows a cross-sectional view of a conventional beveragecontainer holding device, and

FIG. 8B is a drawing when viewed in the direction of the arrow B-B inFIG. 8A.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below withreference to the accompanying drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, a beverage container holding device 10 is a cupholder that has an upper opening 11 in a gourd shape at the top, andthrough the upper opening 11 it is possible to bring in and out twocylindrical beverage containers (FIG. 5, reference numeral 15).Incidentally, the beverage container holding device 10 according to theembodiment of the present invention may be a cup holder for holding asingle beverage container. In this case, the upper opening 11 is acircular opening.

The cylindrical beverage container (FIG. 5, reference numeral 15) may besquare (or rectangular) cylinder-shaped. In this case, the upper openingbecomes a square gourd shape such that two square openings are connectedto each other by a narrow connecting part. Incidentally, the squarecylindrical beverage container holding device 10 may be a cup holder forholding a single beverage container. In this case, the upper opening 11is a square (or rectangular) opening.

A decorative ring 12 is fitted so as to surround the upper opening 11,and an upper panel 13 is placed below the decorative ring 12. Anunlocking button 72, i.e., an unlocking member, is disposed on the upperpanel 13. The operation of the unlocking button 72 will be describedlater with reference to FIG. 7.

The structure of each part and component will be described below withreference to FIG. 2 to FIG. 7.

As shown in FIG. 2, a housing member 20 includes an upper cylindricalbody 21 and a lower cylindrical body 22.

In this embodiment, the lower cylindrical body 22 is a two-piece moldedbody that has a half 22 a and another half 22 b. More specifically, thehalf 22 b is combined with the half 22 a, and the two halves 22 a and 22b are coupled with each other by first screws 24 such that the twohalves become a single cylinder. Incidentally, the half 22 a and thehalf 22 b may be coupled by a claw and a hole. Alternatively, the lowercylindrical body 22 may be a one-piece cylindrical body which is notsplittable.

The lower cylindrical body 22 has three guide grooves 23 extendingvertically.

The lower cylindrical body 22 is aligned with the upper cylindrical body21, and the two bodies 21 and 22 are coupled with each other by secondscrews 25. Thus, the housing member 20 having the upper opening 11 and alower opening 26 is obtained.

A movable floor 40 is housed in the housing member 20 such that themovable floor 40 can move up and down (vertically).

The movable floor 40 includes a disk portion 41, branch portions 42extending horizontally outward from the disk portion 41, claw portions43 extending from the branch portions 42, respectively, and verticallyelongated mask portions 44 extending upward from the branch portions 42,respectively. The claw portions 43 extend substantially parallel to theouter edge of the disk portion 41, respectively.

A tension spring, which serves as a movable floor biasing member 46, isstretched between the movable floor 40 and the upper cylindrical body 21(the biasing member spans the movable floor 40 and the upper cylindricalbody 21), That is, in a state where the branch portions 42 reach theupper ends of the guide grooves 23, the movable floor 40 is biased(urged) upward.

Incidentally, the movable floor biasing member 46 is not limited to thetension spring, and it may be a rubber string, a torsion spring or acompression spring. In short, any suitable member may be used as long asit biases the movable floor 40 upward.

Also, the number and locations of the guide grooves 23 are optional, thenumber and locations of the branch portions 42 are optional, and thenumber and locations of the movable floor biasing members 46 areoptional.

As shown in FIG. 3, the lower opening 26 of the lower cylindrical body22 is closed by a bottom member 48. The bottom member 48 is coupled tothe lower cylindrical body 22 by third screws 49.

Further, the lower cylindrical body 22 has protruding pieces 27protruding outward from the upper edge of the lower cylindrical body.The lower cylindrical body 22 also has arcuate elongated holes 28 in theprotruding pieces 27, respectively.

Although a structure of a movable floor locking mechanism 60 will bedescribed in detail with reference to FIG. 4, the movable floor lockingmechanism 60 has pins 61 on an upper surface thereof, and an annularmember 62 in a lower part thereof.

The movable floor locking mechanism 60 is rotatably supported by alocking mechanism support member 50 which also serves as a cover member.Specifically, an annular peripheral wall portion 51 is provided on thelocking mechanism support member 50, and an annular member 62 isrotatably fitted over the peripheral wall portion 51.

The movable floor locking mechanism 60 is biased in the lockingdirection by a torsion spring 53.

The movable floor locking mechanism 60 is fitted in the lowercylindrical body 22 such that the pins 61 are fitted in the arcuateelongated holes 28, respectively. Then, the locking mechanism supportmember 50 is coupled to the bottom member 48 by fourth screws 54.

Referring to FIG. 4A, the structure of the movable floor lockingmechanism 60 will be described.

As shown in FIG. 4A, the movable floor locking mechanism 60 includes theannular member 62, three column members 63 extending upward from theannular member 62, lock pieces 64 and 65 which are integrally formed oneach of the column members 63, a connecting member 66 which connects theupper ends of the column members 63 with each other, and the pins 61standing from the upper surfaces of the column members 63, respectively.

Incidentally, although the connecting member 66 has a C-shape in thisembodiment, the connecting member will have an O shape (annular shape)when the housing member 20 is merely cylindrical.

Further, although the number of the lock pieces 64 and 65 is two in thisembodiment, it may be only one, or three or more.

Further, it is possible to reduce the weight by eliminating theconnecting member 66 from the movable floor locking mechanism 60. Amovable floor locking mechanism 60B without the connecting member 66will be described with reference to FIG. 4B.

That is, as shown in FIG. 4B, the movable floor locking mechanism 60Bincludes an annular member 62, column members 63 extending upward fromthe annular member 62, lock pieces 64 and 65 integrally formed on thecolumn members 63, and pins 61 standing from the upper surfaces of thecolumn members 63, respectively.

The weight of the movable floor locking mechanism 60B is reduced by anamount corresponding to the connecting member 66. On the other hand,since each of the column members 63 is a cantilever beam, the deflectionof the upper end of each column member 63 is likely to increase.

In this regard, if the structure of FIG. 4A is employed, the connectingmember 66 suppresses the deflection of the upper ends of the columnmembers 63.

As shown in FIG. 5, the movable floor 40 is housed in the housing member20 including the upper cylindrical body 21 and the lower cylindricalbody 22 such that the movable floor can move up and down. The movablefloor 40 supports the bottom of the so-called long size beveragecontainer 15.

The annular member 62 rotates around the peripheral wall portion 51, andthe connecting member 66 rotates around the lower cylindrical body 22.

Incidentally, although the housing member 20 is divided vertically inthe embodiment (i.e., the housing member 20 has a two-piece structure),the housing member 20 may be a single cylinder having a one-piecestructure if molding is possible.

As shown in FIG. 6, the movable floor 40 is biased (urged) upwardly bythe movable floor biasing member 46. Each of the guide grooves 23 ismasked by the associated one of the vertically elongated mask portions44.

As shown in FIG. 7, when viewed from the outside, the claw portions 43and the movable floor locking mechanism 60 are positioned apart from theguide grooves 23. That is, since a center of the housing member 20exists behind the drawing sheet (if a reader imagines athree-dimensional structure from FIG. 7), the claw portions 43 and themovable floor locking mechanism 60 are located at a position whichcannot be seen from the center of the housing member 20 (when the clawportions 43 and the locking mechanism 60 are looked at from behind thedrawing sheet) through the guide grooves 23.

Further, the movable floor locking mechanism 60 has a cam surface 67,which is inclined (inclined upward to the right in the drawing), in thevicinity of one of the column members 63.

In the vicinity of the cam surface 67, disposed is a release rod 70 thatextends upward.

The release rod 70 has a cam portion 71, which rests on the cam surface67, at a lower part of the release rod 70. The lower end of the releaserod 70 is supported by the locking mechanism support member 50 such thatthe lower end of the release rod 70 can move up and down.

Further, the upper portion of the release rod 70 is supported by theupper cylindrical body 21 such that the upper portion of the release rod70 can move up and down. The unlocking button 72 is fitted over theupper end of the release rod 70 and is biased upward by a biasing member73 such as a compression spring.

The unlocking member (lock release member) 72 is not limited to theunlocking button 72, and it may be the release rod 70 itself.

As the unlocking button 72 is intentionally depressed, the cam surface67 is pushed by the cam portion 71, and the movable floor lockingmechanism 60 moves in the unlocking direction (to the right in thedrawing).

Incidentally, the unlocking button 72 may be provided on the side wallof the upper cylindrical body 21. Although the unlocking button 72 moveshorizontally, a mechanism using a link or the like may be provided forconverting the horizontal motion to the vertical motion.

In the drawing (FIG. 7), the claw portion 43 is engaged with the lowerlock piece 65. That is, the lock piece 65 suppresses the upper surfaceof the claw portion 43. As a result, the movable floor (FIG. 6,reference numeral 40) which is biased upward by the movable floorbiasing member 46 is locked at that position.

As the unlocking button 72 is depressed, the movable floor lockingmechanism 60 is moved in the unlocking direction (to the right in thedrawing), and the lower lock piece 65 is released from the claw portion43. Then, the movable floor biasing member 46 causes the claw portion 43to move upward such that the claw portion 43 reaches the upper edge ofthe guide groove 23. As a result, as shown in FIG. 5, the upper portionof the beverage container 15 protrudes largely, and it becomes easy tograsp the beverage container.

Although not shown in the drawings, when the beverage container 15 is ofregular size, the claw portion 43 is hooked on the upper locking piece64. With such configuration, as the unlocking button 72 is depressed,the claw portion 43 moves upward and reaches the upper edge of the guidegroove 23.

Incidentally, the beverage container may be a paper cup (or plastic cup)whose entire top is open. If the beverage container is a cup, a filledliquid beverage is liable to spill. A portion of the spilled liquidbeverage flows through the guide grooves 23 from behind the drawingsheet of FIG. 7 toward a reader of the specification. At this time, theclaw portions 43 and the lock pieces 64 and 65 are at positions awayfrom the guide grooves 23. As a result, the spilled liquid beverage doesnot contact the claw portions 43 and the locking pieces 64 and 65.

Then, the spilled liquid beverage flows down the vertical trough 75connected to the lower end of the guide groove 23.

In FIG. 6, the presence of the vertical trough 75 prevents the spilledliquid beverage from flowing around to the lower surface of the bottommember 48. In addition, since the vertical trough 75 is outside thelocking mechanism support member 50 and the annular member 62 of themovable floor locking mechanism, the liquid beverage flowing down thevertical trough 75 does not flow around the locking mechanism supportmember 50 and the annular member 62.

Incidentally, as shown in FIG. 5, the bottom member 48 has a draintubular member 55, and therefore it is possible to quickly drain theliquid beverage. Further, since the drain tubular member 55 extends tobelow the locking mechanism support member 50, it is further ensuredthat the liquid beverage does not flow around the locking mechanismsupport member 50 and the annular member 62.

The drain tubular member 55 has an engaging piece 56. The engaging piece56 engages with the locking mechanism support member 50.

As described above, the locking mechanism support member 50 is coupledto the bottom member 48 by the fourth screws 54. There is a concern thatthe locking mechanism support member 50 may swing about the fourthscrews 54. However, since the engaging piece 56 supports the lockingmechanism support member 50, the swinging of the locking mechanismsupport member 50 is suppressed.

The locking mechanism support member 50 is supported by the engagingpiece 56. Next, the fourth screws 54 are screwed to the bottom member48. That is, since the locking mechanism support member 50 istemporarily fixed by the engaging piece 56, a screwing operation isfacilitated. As a result, a work of coupling the locking mechanismsupport member 50 to the bottom member 48 is facilitated.

Since the sticky liquid beverage does not contact the claw portions 43and the lock pieces 64 and 65, and does not flow around the lockingmechanism support member 50 and the annular member 62, the movement ofthe movable floor locking mechanism 60 is smooth, and the locking andunlocking movements are smoothly performed.

When the movable floor locking mechanism 60 rotates, the pins 61 areguided by the arcuate elongated holes 28, and therefore the movablefloor locking mechanism 60 rotates without rattling. Thus, the goodactuation of the movable floor locking mechanism 60 is maintained.

Incidentally, the pins 61 may be provided on the lower cylindrical body22, and the arcuate elongated holes 28 may be formed in the columnmembers 63. Further, the arcuate elongated holes 28 through which thepins 61 penetrate may be replaced with arcuate grooves in which the pins61 are fitted.

Further, the shape of each pin 61 is not limited to cylindrical. Eachpin 61 may have an arbitrary shape as long as the pin can move in thearcuate elongated hole 28.

Incidentally, the beverage container holding device 10 of the presentinvention is suitable for a passenger car, but it may be applied to landvehicles such as trucks and buses, and also applied to aircrafts andships. It should be noted that the beverage container holding device 10of the present invention is more suitable for a vehicle that is assumedto start suddenly and stop suddenly.

The beverage container holding device of the present invention isadvantageously used for a vehicle.

What is claimed is:
 1. A beverage container holding device comprising: ahousing member having an upper opening and a lower opening andconfigured to house a beverage container inserted from the upperopening; a movable floor attached to the housing member such that themovable floor can move up and down and supports a bottom of the beveragecontainer; a movable floor biasing member spanning the housing memberand the movable floor and configured to bias the movable floor upward; amovable floor locking mechanism configured to keep the movable floor ata predetermined height against the movable floor biasing member; and abottom member configured to close the lower opening, the housing memberhaving a guide groove extending vertically, and the bottom membercomprising a vertical trough continuous to the guide groove.
 2. Thebeverage container holding device according to claim 1, wherein thebottom member comprises a drain tubular member.
 3. The beveragecontainer holding device according to claim 2, wherein the movable floorlocking mechanism is rotatably supported by a locking mechanism supportmember, and the drain tubular member extends to below the lockingmechanism support member.
 4. The beverage container holding deviceaccording to claim 3, wherein the drain tubular member comprises anengaging piece formed thereon, and the engaging piece engages with thelocking mechanism support member.